Definition: European Patent Office

Category: General concept

The mission of the European Patent Office (EPO) is to support innovation, competitiveness and economic growth for the benefit of the citizens of Europe. Its task is to grant European patents for inventions, on the basis of a centralised procedure. By filing a single application in one of the three official languages (English, French and German) it is possible to obtain patent protection in some or all of the EPC (European Patent Convention) contracting states. http://www.european-patent-office.org/index.en.php